Mitt Romney Keeps the ‘Sanctuary Mansion’ Going

Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters.

You remember the CNN/YouTube debate from last week when Rudy Giuliani ripped Mitt Romney for keeping a “sanctuary mansion” that employed illegal immigrants as gardeners, right? And you would think that Romney, who defended himself fiercely, would have the sense to make sure those illegal immigrants had either been fired or were fired shortly after, right?

…the very next morning [after the debate], on Thursday, at least two illegal immigrants stepped out of a hulking maroon pickup truck in the driveway of Romney’s Belmont house, then proceeded to spend several hours raking leaves, clearing debris from Romney’s tennis court, and loading the refuse back on to the truck.

In fact, their work was part of a regular pattern. Despite a Globe story in Dec. 2006 that highlighted Romney’s use of illegal immigrants to tend to his lawn, Romney continued to employ the same landscaping company — until today. The landscaping company, in turn, continued to employ illegal immigrants.

Two of the workers confirmed in separate interviews with Globe reporters last week that they were in the country without documents…. Both were seen on the lawn by either Globe reporters or photographers over the last two months.

The Romney camp learned of the two illegal workers when Globe reporters asked Romney about them on the campaign trail. Romney then proceeded to fire the company that employed the two, claiming that he had made it clear to the company after the Dec. 2006 Globe story that it was to never hire illegal immigrants again.

This whole affair shows poor judgment and a stunning lack of political savviness on Romney’s part. His opponents will use it against him mercilessly on the campaign trail. But more important than any of that, two dudes got caught up in political whirlwinds they probably couldn’t care less about, and are likely out of jobs today. They might even get deported. And that’s a real shame.

FACT:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and the wealthy wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2019 demands.